What UK IT must do to progress

Time for UK IT to take stock

I had the pleasure of celebrating my tenth year at Intellect last month, which set me thinking how eventful the past decade in the UK IT industry has been.

It seems timely that I should use this occasion to reflect on the changes we have seen in the sector and to look to the future.

Unsurprisingly, in the past 10 years many technologies have evolved and improved. We now live in a truly digital age where interaction with technology occurs in almost every aspect of our lives.

Among the advances, developments in the way citizens and businesses use the internet have arguably had the biggest impact on our lives.

Adoption of broadband has fostered the growth of other technologies, such as remote-working software, which enable citizens to break out of traditional work and social patterns.

Great strides have also been made in communications devices. Mobile phones, for example, are more compact, more powerful and offer the user a host of connections.

Further improvements to existing technologies will also facilitate convergence in consumer electronics and digital media.

Changes are unlikely to be seismic; they will be gradual and evolutionary, as they have been over the past decade. Even so, we will see exciting developments in advanced medical diagnostics and in-car telematics.

At the moment, the IT sector finds itself in good shape. But the industry will need to develop if business is to prosper.

Intellect’s recently published President’s Report highlights six areas that are vital to keeping the UK technology sector healthy.

It is becoming increasingly important to encourage more talent and skilled individuals into the sector. With more than 140,000 new entrants needed every year, more focus should be put on education and training if we want to keep our edge in a globally competitive environment.

A world-class communications infrastructure is key for any knowledge economy ­ and a bigger focus on this area is required, with Britain ranked seventh in the Economist’s rankings on e-readiness for 2007, falling from fifth in 2006.

We must strive to improve trust and confidence in the sector’s ability to deliver value, as well as improve our relationship with other industries. We should also aim to achieve higher professional standards that create confidence and foster trust.

Finally, with the proportion of early-stage investment flowing into technology firms falling from 67 per cent of all funding in 2005 to 23 per cent in 2006, we need to do our upmost to better exploit innovation, which can deliver huge competitive advantage for the UK technology industry.

As the world adjusts to become a global knowledge economy, focusing on these six areas will put UK IT on a good footing.

So, let us take stock of how far we have come in 10 years, reflect on the fun we have had and then roll up our sleeves ­ because the next decade promises to be just as challenging.

John Higgins is director general of Intellect, the trade association for the UK technology industry. Read the Intellect blog at: http://intellect.computing.co.uk